Visual Arts at NNU

This is where the future of sculpting begins. Our students are mastering the physical side of art in 3D Design, turning raw materials into structural masterpieces.

Build the foundation for a professional designer skillset! Whether it's photo manipulation or typography, our Adobe Design Basics students gain the skills to bring any vision to life.

Why do we use the image of an octopus so much? Back in 2010, a group of students painted a mural featuring an octopus in the stairwell of our department. They chose the octopus because it is a naturally curious creature with a creative personality that enables it to solve problems. I think that fits our department pretty well. Now in 2026, Kylie Smit uses two Octopuses to create a dynamic scene in Photoshop. Could she have used ai? Yes. Would this be as authentic and original? No. While ai has it's place in Design, learning how to create the traditional way does too. Great work Kylie!

Get the gist of design basics. Here's a look inside 2D Design at NNU, where you'll learn that great art starts with a great foundation.

Here we'll instill the basics of oil painting! Our students learn to perceive light, shadow, and depth in a whole new way in Painting 1.

It's The Pop week! This Tuesday 12-3 pm, come swing by The Quad to enjoy coffee, root beer, and merch brought to you by vannu students!

# popupshop # design

Meet the Seniors of Handmade!

Handmade will showcase fine art, design, and digital media work done by Visual Arts department seniors, highlighting their diverse techniques, tools, and approaches to creating.

They will be showcasing their portfolio work on April 21st from 4-6 pm in the Friesen Galleries.

We look forward to seeing you there!

In our Adobe Design Basics class, students recently created self-portraits using Adobe Illustrator—and the results are incredible!
Here’s a slideshow featuring all of the student work from this project. It’s just one of many fun, hands-on projects students complete throughout the semester as they explore digital illustration, creativity, and design.

Take a look at some of the artists Instagram handles:
Eli -
Addison-addison.grace.15
Alivia-
Avery-
Isabelle - .art
Darby -
Kylie -

The annual film lover's event is back again. The Academy Awards is here for VANNU, with the newest Oscar-nominated short films in for you to come view. Join us on March 13th this Friday for the newest quality movie work at Cinemark Majestic in Meridian. Sign up for your free ticket today!

Email Jake for any questions or info.